Brexit: British Citizens May Soon Be Charged To Travel To Europe |PoliFocus

British citizens may have to pay a fee and apply to travel on holiday to Europe after the UK leaves the EU.

People jetting off on their annual summer breaks to Spain and France could have to pay extra after Brexit.

This is under plans currently being drawn up by the European commission as part of EU travel information and authorisation system (Etias).


If this scheme were to become legislation it wouldapply to all visitors to the 26-nation Schengen zone – which Britain is not a member – from countries that do not require a visa to enter.

This is similar to the US ESTA scheme, in which people visiting from countries that do not need full visas have to to apply online for permission to travel at a cost of $14 (£10).

France and Germany are calling for the new system which British citizens would have to adhere to, to follow a US style system.

It comes as there are calls for better security across Europe after the recent terror attacks in France and Belgium.

Currently, as EU citizens but not part of the Schengen, UK citizens have to show a passport to get in, but can then travel freely within it.

However, after Brexit takes place this will no longer be the case, and British citizens may have to apply and pay to visit.

But this, if brought to the table, would have to be negotiated as part of the Brexit talks.Steve Peers, a professor of EU law at the University of Essex, told the Guardian: “It’s going to annoy a lot of people.

“We can ask for full free movement, but any arrangement is going to have to be reciprocal, so you have to ask what Nigel Farage and the otherswill accept.“We have no idea what the rules will be.”

Peers said British citizens would still be able to use fast-track channels at EU airports if the government negotiated a deal similar enough to Norway’s or Switzerland’s to satisfy Brussels on free movement.

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